We don’t talk about money! An interview with KAMBRIUM

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier. 

Looking for more Rockharz? What about my daily reports on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4?

It’s not a lie when I tell you that going to the Rockharz festival is like coming home. Not only because I grew up in a city nearby, but also because you always meet people who have grown close to your heart over time. Among these people are the guys from KAMBRIUM. I first met and interviewed them at Rockharz 2017 and it’s been a real pleasure seeing their development since then. It’s only logical that I just had to grab them for an interview this year too. You can now read how they experienced their gig if they would ever make a concept album about umbrellas!

Huge thanks to lightinmirror.de for the awesome pictures!

Shieldmaiden’s Voice: What does it feel like to have rocked the Rockharz stage for the second time already?

Jan: It’s great feeling because we knew what to expect and we thereby also knew how to prepare ourselves. In my eyes, we did a better show because of that. 

Maxi: Totally! It was also a feeling of coming home.

Jan: Absolutely! Everything was new the first time and we only knew it from the other side of the. Maybe we also had a little bit of a grace period. This time around we’re taken more seriously and aren’t just seen as the small, local band. 

SV: I agree with that! The people also seemed to have a lot of fun. Was it very expensive for you to hire your own fan club to cheer you on?

Maxi: We don’t talk about money! But we had to contact three different bus companies before finding one that was ready to take on this challenge.

SV: What did it feel like for you to see so many people in front of the stage despite the early time?

Jan: It’s always crazy to me that people get up early just to see us. If you’re going to festivals yourself, you know that the band that interest you start playing around 15:00. When people turn up at 12:00 just to see us, then it’s just insane!

Maxi: I feel immense gratitude for that. It’s an awesome feeling to look in the happy faces, no matter if you know them or not. To be able to smile into the crowd and get that smile back is just an incredible feeling.

Jan: In addition, we have something that the headliners don’t get and that is pretty significant: We see when the infield is being opened and everyone just storms inside. The crowd is already there when the headliners play. To see the people pouring in is truly awesome!

SV: Which songs, do you think, are the ones best received by the audience? The „older“ ones or do the people prefer Synthetic Era songs?

Maxi: Aaaaa… Hard question…

Jan: I think, the songs best received are the one from Dawn of the Five Suns, don’t you think?

Maxi: Dawn is awesome because people can participate. But the [Seasons of the] Sea Witch is also a classic.

Jan: I think people still have to get used to the new stuff.

Maxi: Yes, but I think people who are more into less hard and non-traditional Metal can use this to find access to our music. Nightly Beast Mode is a good example for that, I always recommend that to people who ask me what kind of music we play. 

Jan: During the signing sessions, I always ask people if they saw us for the first time and the people, who saw us at Rockharz, mainly heard Synthetic Era songs and liked it.

Maxi: It’s a difficult matter, really. The fans, who have been with us from day one, love us for our early stuff, but you also want to grow as an artist. It’s a battle between the old and the new. 

SV: It’s been some time since our last interview and Synthetic Era was released in the mean time. How was your journey with this album so far?

Jan: We weren’t able to do a lot because of Covid which means that there wasn’t really a journey to begin with. 

Maxi: We did more private stuff because there wasn’t much to do with the band.

Jan: I also feel like that album was released under the radar.

Maxi: Absolutely! There were so many releases because the bands had time for that and it was probably a bit too much for the people out there. 

Jan: We were also told when to release and when not to release because other bands were going to release on certain dates. It was extremely hard. We were really put into a tough spot because the competition with other bands was so intense. 

SV: Would you say that the pandemic harmed you?

Jan: No, on the contrary! We were strengthened because we received government grants during this time. Our album most definitely profited from that. Due to the pandemic the sum was even higher compared to what it would have been without the pandemic. 

Maxi: The more interesting question would be how we compensated the cancellations. Since we didn’t need any production related things, like rental vans or something like that, we had more room for the album itself. 

Jan: We most definitely weren’t harmed by the pandemic.

SV: Knowing you, you’re already working on something new. What are topics you would never use for an album?

Jan: Latin-american music with percussion inlays!

Maxi: My first instinct was to say „Second World War“ because SABATON already exists.

Jan: We wouldn’t do totally absurd topics…

Maxi: Space Ninjas with laser eyes…

SV: No, that’s what VICTORIUS are already doing!

Jan: We would never do something like a concept album about umbrellas or something like that!

SV: You’re april fool’s joke was an album about the pre-historic human, I thought that wasn’t half bad!

Both: We won’t talk about that!

Maxi: We’re working on multiple things, but we can’t say anything further than that. 

SV: Which goals do you hope to achieve in the next years?

Maxi: Well… How much space do you have?

Jan: Really? I can’t think of anything on the spot…

Maxi: Whaaaaat? Well! First of all, we should get closer with Reaper Entertainment.

Jan: I’d be happy, if festivals started responding to us…

Maxi: Long story short: More festivals, more gigs, more fans, more beer, more fun, more albums, more videos. We mainly work on getting more gigs. Everything went so great in 2019 and then it all came to a halt and you can feel that. Many organizers, who are contacted by us, say that they will see whether they will organize anything at all. I think it will get better in 2023. It’s a good sign that festivals are taking place again. 

Jan: You shouldn’t forget though that we’re also working on ourselves. We record every practice and two to three weeks later, we are being presented with that practice by Karsten. We’re then being told: „There’s a mistake, there’s a mistake, look at that again!“

Maxi: Karsten really does have an ear for these things. It does sound mean and aggressive, but…

Jan: … he’s always very diplomatic! He always says: „I want to look that over with you again!“

Maxi: It’s like being called to the principal! You know you have done something, but you don’t know what!

SV: I don’t want to torture you that much longer! What is something you always wanted to say in an interview but never had the chance to?

Maxi: Oh my god, Jan! I love you and the other guys!

Jan: What Maxi says!

Exactly! Listen to what Maxi has to say! In case you can’t get enough KAMBRIUM, check out their live dates. The guys also have a very cool merch shop. The Synthetic Era shirt glows in the dark!!!